What Will it Take for a Woman to Become President of the United States?

What Will it Take for a Woman to Become President of the United States?

Author: UCL Political Science March 26, 2026 Duration: 34:07

No woman has ever served as President of the United States. Only two women have ever been nominated as candidates for that office by one of the two main parties. So what is causing this persistent barrier, and how might it be overcome?

These questions are taken up in a new article in The Political Quarterly, which examines the structural, cultural and political factors that have kept women from reaching the highest office in American politics. Is the United States an outlier in global terms when it comes to women's representation at the top of political life? And what would need to change — in parties, in media, in public attitudes — for that to shift?

Joining host Alan Renwick to explore these questions are the article's authors: Rosie Campbell, Professor of Politics at King's College London, and Joni Lovenduski, Professor Emerita at Birkbeck College and Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute at King's College London.

Mentioned in this episode:


Ever wonder what happens when sharp academic minds turn their focus to the headlines? UCL Uncovering Politics pulls back the curtain on the forces shaping our world, straight from the heart of one of the world's leading universities. This isn't a lecture series, but a series of conversations where complex ideas about power, culture, and society are made accessible and urgent. You'll hear researchers from UCL's Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy dissect everything from voting behaviour and international conflict to the philosophy underlying our social structures, connecting rigorous scholarship directly to current events. Each episode feels like sitting in on a fascinating discussion between experts who are as curious about the "why" behind political phenomena as they are knowledgeable. The podcast serves as a direct line to cutting-edge analysis, offering depth and context that goes far beyond the daily news cycle. By spotlighting the fantastic work done within the department, it provides listeners with a richer, more nuanced understanding of the mechanics behind culture, government, and the news we consume. Tune in for a thoughtful and genuinely enlightening exploration of contemporary politics, grounded in research but always engaged with the real world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 161

UCL Uncovering Politics
Podcast Episodes
Taking Offence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:03
It’s sometimes said that we’re living through an epidemic of taking offence. We have become hyper-sensitive, the story goes, to any slight against our sense of self-worth. And a generation of so-called ‘snowflakes’ are t…
Intermarriage and Voting in Africa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:56
Ethnic voting means voting on the basis of ethnic identity, rather than, say, policy preferences or how well or badly you think the incumbents have governed. Ethnic and other forms of communal voting are found in many pa…
Governments and Private Sector Suppliers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:33
Now, no one would claim that the subject of contracts between governments and private sector suppliers is all that sexy. But the last two years of the Covid crisis have certainly revealed its importance. In the earliest…
Public Preferences on Taxes and Spending [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:41
Few issues in public policy are as important as the size of the state. How much should the state spend? How much, therefore, should it raise in taxes? And what exactly should it spend this money on?In a democracy, we exp…
Online Public Shaming: Social Media, Ethics and Punishment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:11
Today we’re looking at a brand new article, Against Online Public Shaming: Ethical Problems with Mass Social Media, by Guy Aitchison (Loughborough University) and Dr Saladin Meckled-Garcia (UCL). Online Public Shaming (O…
Legacies of Armed Conflict in Northern Ireland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:37
Northern Ireland experienced three decades of violence from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. Thousands of people were killed, injured, or bereaved. The so-called Troubles were brought to an end by the Belfast or Good Fr…
COP26 in Review: Reflections on Glasgow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:22
Today we’re taking a retrospective look at the outcomes of the COP-26 conference that was held in Glasgow earlier this month. COP – or Conference of the Parties – is the annual UN climate change conference. A key aim of…
Regulating the Internet [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:36
We’re focusing today on the regulation of the internet. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen argues that her former employer persistently puts profit above prevention of harm. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg himself argu…
Analysing Politicians’ Words [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:22
Today our focus is on what politicians say – and on processes for analysing what politicians say. Politicians’ speech is, of course, a fundamental part of politics. We can think of it as a product of – and therefore a wi…
The Global Politics of Climate Change [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:05
COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and is the annual UN climate change conference. The conference will be attended by the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) –…